 Business Insight for Natural and Organic Buyers |
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by NFN EditorClick to View the Latest Issue. Paste the link below in a browser to download NFN's 2008 Media Kit http://www.naturalfoodnet.com/community/medialibrary/filedownload.aspx?file=u107_cfe3dba469384442bbdf85fdabda06ab.pdf Paste the link below in a browser to download NFN's 2008 Rate Card http://www.naturalfoodnet.com/community/medialibrary/filedownload.aspx?file=u107_ff37cdf2569c458baf2f1712ccf50d1f.pdf Paste the link below in a browser to download NFN's Online Community http://www.naturalfoodnet.com/community/medialibrary/filedownload.aspx?file=u107_6bac5b7e2cf748469dfd755e03f7fdc2.pdfPaste the link below in a browser to download NFN's 2008 Editorial Calendar http://www.naturalfoodnet.com/community/medialibrary/filedownload.aspx?file=u107_fe41f5dfecb44340b9938116a35e10d3.pdfPaste the link below in a browser to download NFN's Mechanical Specifications http://www.naturalfoodnet.com/community/medialibrary/filedownload.aspx?file=u107_ff37cdf2569c458baf2f1712ccf50d1f.pdfContactsDeanna Morgan, Regional Sales Manager, Southeast & West (901) 759-1241 Jeanette Sims, Regional Sales Manager Wine & Spirits, West (415) 383-1762 Brian Grau, Regional Sales Manager (314) 487-6568 Douglas B. Hebbard, Group Publisher (847) 356-7675 Why Advertise?Natural Food Network has the simple mission of encouraging grocers to place more of your natural and certified organic food on their shelves. Sales of natural products topped $62 billion last year with more than $20 billion spent on certified organic goods. Today 97 percent of Americans spend at least a portion of their grocery budgets on healthy food. Eating healthy foods topped the list of consumer lifestyle choices for the first time in 2008, according to researchers* who say respondents rank healthy eating above exercise, taking vitamins and even managing weight. Despite a difficult economy consumers spent nearly 8 percent more on healthy foods in May 2008 than in November 2007, according to the Nutrition Business Journal. Our target readers are retail buyers at stores earning at least $2.5 million annually. These stores typically stock 15,000-25,000 SKUs. They include independents and small-chain health food, natural product, vitamin and gourmet grocers as well as a growing number of pharmacy/food combination and mass-market retailers. Among manufacturers we target individuals responsible for securing natural and certified organic ingredients. Our vision holds that both mass market and natural foods store formats can coexist and become mutually complementary in serving a growing marketplace. Five years ago most retailers counted their natural and organic SKUs in the 100s. Today small-chain and independent grocers as well as conventional stores like Safeway, SuperValu, Albertson’s, Raleys, Food Lion, Ahold, Hy-Vee, Kroger and Hanaford stock several thousand natural and organic items. Demand is growing rapidly. Sales grew 9.8 percent in 2007 with $31 billion in sales of certified products. Dollar sales of organic food are expected to increase an average of 18.4 percent annually through 2010, according to the Organic Trade Association. “All organizations agree that by 2025, organic products will be sold anywhere and everywhere,” according to OTA’s “The Past, Present and Future of the Organic Industry,” a 64-page report. “The average consumer household in 2025 will contain at least one, if not many, organic products on a regular basis. This includes not only food items but organic clothing, household cleaning products and personal care items.” Natural Food Network Magazine was launched to facilitate this transition. Natural Food Network Magazine provides the food retail and distribution industry with a complete information source on new products and market trends and opportunities. It educates independent and small-chain buyers and provides a continuing foundation for the gourmet and specialty retail buyers. We recognize that providers need to effectively market through the entire supply chain of the industry. As you will have seen from our literature, our information services are designed to enable and promote the whole business network. We are as much a champion of the middle as we are of the retail and supply ends of the business. This differentiates Natural Food Network Magazine from its competitors and makes it more effective; we address the transition, and we address the network. Along with our web information and print-delivered information, Natural Food Network provides the natural products industry with a new type of business information service that will help it and you succeed. Click here to learn more. In 2007 mass-market grocers distributed 62 percent of the nation's natural and functional foods, while independents and the so-called "supernatural" food chains like Whole Foods and Wild Oats sold 33 percent. Independents control 64% of the natural channel with Whole Foods and Wild Oats accounting for 24% and co-ops sell 4% of total. Sales of supplements in mass-market stores increased 5.8 percent to $6.5 billion. Roughly one third of our 15,000 BPA qualified readers purchase for natural and health food, vitamin and specialty retailers with two-thirds of our circulation now directed to buyers at small-chain grocers and supermarkets. Informing category buyers and store managers in these transitional stores comes at a time when big-name manufacturers with brands like Campbell's, Prego, Ragu, Swanson's and Kellogg's are beginning to introduce certified organic products. It is the small-format stores that hold the key to your success. A mass market retailers feature brands like Stonyfield, Cascadian, Amy's Kitchen, Annie’s Naturals, Nature's Path and Klashi -- shelf space opens at the smaller-format retailers seeking to differentiate themselves. Marketing and coupon promotions in Good Housekeeping and national primetime spots for certified organic products focus public attention on the benefits of organic products. Quality, taste and “locally grown” become key selling points. Where offerings were once few, choosing the right mix of products is now a difficult challenge. Our network helps buyers make the right decisions in selecting, displaying, marketing and promoting products. Roughly 30,000 natural and organic products are introduced annually but fewer than 1 percent survive. We help insure the successful products are yours. Call one of our representatives today for a consultative discussion and demonstration on how our network makes the most of traditional print media, reaches your target market AND makes it easy to benefit from online pay-per-click advertising. Feel free to call me personally if you have any questions or comments, and I will be happy to help. Douglas Hebbard, Group Publisher (847) 356-7675
* Nutrition Business Journal consumer research study 1,000 consumers in Nov 2007 and follow-up with same group in May 2008. Study showed customers were spending 7.7 percent more on healthy foods in May than in November, $191.45 per month with 97.7 percent spending a portion of the grocery budgets on healthy foods, up from 96.5 in November. Almost half of households surveyed reported half of their food budget is spent on products with healthy ingredients foremost of which are whole grains, with more than half selecting foods with reduced trans fats, reduced cholesterol and high dietary fiber.
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